The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus that protects an occupant from an impact by deploying and inflating an airbag at a position close to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat when an impact due to, for example, a collision is applied to a vehicle. The present invention also relates to a method for assembling the airbag apparatus.
An airbag apparatus is effective for protecting an occupant seated in a vehicle seat from an impact when an impact due to, for example, a collision is applied to a vehicle. As one form of the airbag apparatus, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-157409 discloses an airbag apparatus including a bag-shaped airbag, a retainer secured to the airbag, and an elongated inflator, which is attached to the retainer and generates gas for inflating the airbag.
The retainer has a bolt, which projects from the outer circumferential surface of the retainer in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the inflator. The inflator also has a bolt, which projects from the end surface of the inflator in the direction of the axis.
The inflator is inserted in the retainer, and the bolt of the inflator is inserted through a lid of the retainer. When a nut is fastened to the bolt, the inflator is secured to the retainer.
The bolt of the retainer is inserted through a base fabric sheet that forms the airbag, and then is inserted into a vehicle component, for example, a seat frame that forms the frame of the vehicle seat. When a nut is fastened to the bolt, the retainer is secured to the seat frame together with the airbag.
In the airbag apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-157409, the bolt of the inflator is used to secure the inflator to the retainer. The inflator and retainer are secured to the seat frame with only the bolt of the retainer. Therefore, the securing strength of the inflator to the seat frame might be insufficient.
Also, while the bolt of the retainer protrudes in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the inflator, the bolt of the inflator protrude in the direction along the axis. Thus, the direction in which the nuts are tightened is largely different between the bolt of the retainer and the bolt of the inflator, which makes the tightening operation complicated.
Such a problem can also occur in an airbag apparatus installed in any type of transport vehicle.